Rights and duties are the basic norms that govern the general behavior of citizens in democratic societies. Their respect and defense are, for example, in the first lines of the 1978 Constitution, currently in force.
The modern definition of rights and duties was established in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776, and in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, one of the great pillars of the French Revolution. These Declarations were subsequently reworked, leading to the approval by the United Nations Assembly in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Declaration is the one indicated as the definition of the rights and freedoms of Spaniards in the 1978 Constitution, in textual form.
Rights and duties are closely related and one does not exist without the other, because if there is a right, there is also a duty to respect it. Neither are some others laws, which are explicit norms that indicate the extension of the rights and the sanctions for not respecting them in a specific way, with penalties in case they are not complied with. So that you better understand what they are and how to differentiate rights and duties, we will provide you with details below.
What do you need to differentiate rights and duties?
- Know your rights and your duties
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The Spanish Constitution of 1978
Instructions to differentiate rights and duties
- What is a right? A right is the freedom to do something or have something, whether material or immaterial, especially from a moral point of view, since it can later be concretely embodied in a law. For example, the right to opinion, we all believe that we have the right to express our opinion freely on the most diverse topics; A law can specify that we have that right, but also its limit, how to give an opinion of someone by insulting them, and then it will establish a sanction so that they are not insulted. It is something that in a country or in a society is recognized by all or at least by the majority, as is the case in democratic countries, where there are established channels so that all citizens can express their opinion on those rights. On the contrary, in dictatorships there are also rights, but only those granted by those who hold power,
- What is a duty? Like rights, it is a moral concept, for which we consider that we have the responsibility and obligation to do or not do something in front of other people, in front of oneself or also in front of society, social groups or even before the Condition. Also, duties are something that can be specified in the laws. For example, we can all accept the duty to help a person injured in a traffic accident, but a law can specify its definition and establish sanctions if someone does not comply with it.
- Do rights have limits? Yes, because a right gives us the freedom to do something, what we want to do can be positive or negative for the rest of society. In every society there are moral values, that is, definitions of what is right or wrong, accepted by the majority, but some members of that society may consider that they do not go with them. For example, we consider that murdering someone is horrifying and reprehensible, but someone at a given moment may think that he can murder another person, for the most diverse reasons, such as the rapist of his daughter. However, society considers that a rapist must be arrested and tried and taken to jail and this is expressed in the law, so that, in the indicated case, it will also prevent that father from taking justice into the hands of the.
- Rights and laws. The rights can be individual and social, and normally they will be reflected in the laws in a more or less specific way, since when detailing a right, some specific aspect may not be as accepted by the majority of citizens as the rest of what is included in said right. This makes it necessary to define it more precisely in the laws. But keep in mind that rights may overlap with each other or may conflict with other rights. In this case, the laws stipulate the limits of each of them, and if even so at any given moment they collide with each other, it is the judges who will dictate a solution. For example, a citizen has the right to go on strike with his co-workers. But by exercising that right he may be disturbing the right of other citizens, for example, to move around your city comfortably if the case is a transport strike. That is where the laws and judges intervene, and that is why it is common for minimum or basic services to be established during a strike, so as to also guarantee the right to a minimum amount of transportation that does not harm the right to work of the rest of the population. citizenship.
- Duties and laws. Duties bind us morally, but that obligation can be more or less intense depending on each individual, so the laws specify them so that there are minimums that are always met. For example, we may consider that the duty to stop our vehicle at a red traffic light is logical, but if we approach one and see that the street is empty, we may think that in this case it is not obligatory to obey that duty. The law reminds us to stop every time, because a pedestrian can always appear suddenly and then we would run him over. Therefore, if we cross in red, we will have a fine.
- Difference between rights and duties. Rights and duties differ in that, while we have rights but we can exercise them or not, that is our prerogative, we must always comply with our duties, because we morally consider -and in this case the law establishes it- it is necessary for the well-being of all and for our society to function as well as possible.
Tips to differentiate rights and duties
- A well-known saying expresses that “my freedom ends where that of others begins” and it is good advice when exercising your rights, because rights can come into conflict with each other.
- Being aware of our duties and acting accordingly, beyond the fact that the laws can penalize us if we do not comply with them, is something that will depend on our conscience.